Talking Tactics

After our day of fun in the sun at the Workforce Kick-Off at Stadium MK, the next step for the rugby world cup volunteers, known as The Pack, is our training. There's two sessions, but some people have three - and now I know why I am so glad I've not been selected for the role that needs that third session. I'm keeping quiet on that as I don't want to scare one of our own! The first session, called Talking Tactics, was an all-day event where we learned all about what we're brilliant at and how we can use those strengths when performing our roles in The Pack.

But before that we all completed an on-line training session covering many of the topics explored in more depth during Talking Tactics and challenges we may encounter when we're actually volunteering. I was particularly grateful for this training as I learned you should make sure you set an alarm clock and that the sound is activated if you need to get up for an early shift.

So the other Wednesday I found myself (after setting my alarm and making sure the ringer was set to its loudest), along with a chest infection and massive outbreak of hay fever, at the Rose Bowl in Leeds with about 150 other Pack members who were mainly volunteering in Leeds and Manchester. On registration we were given our latest batch of goodies to keep us motivated and informed of all things 2015 Rugby World Cup.

In the morning, Talking Tactics focused on the importance of The Pack, the role that each team at England 2015 has to play in delivering the Tournament and how we can be fabulous volunteers. There was lots of discussion about why or how we got involved with rugby that led us to be in that room. And it was from me standing up and giving my little pitch that fellow board member, Lungs, heard my native twang which meant he came and introduced himself during lunch.

We had a number of exercises to chat about pride and strengths and all sort of behaviour stuff with whoever was sat next to us. My chum was a young lad from Darlington who's at Leeds Beckett University. The group activity to put ten tournament related statements into the order of importance to the World Cup - things like the spectators having an amazing experience or that we leave a legacy behind - was like politicians having a debate. When you consider the majority of the volunteers in the room were middle-aged men who were adept at giving their opinion then you'll understand why we got nowhere fast!  I discovered I am no better at making a paper airplane fly now than when I was a child in an exercise to write a down a commitment, make it fly then whoever picked up your plane had to come to find you and you find the person whose plane you caught. I shall be taking that little networking activity back to work.

After a very nice lunch spent chatting with our new friends (from that plane exercise - what an excuse to go staring at people's chests, where we'd all stuck our name badges, to find the owner of the planes we clutched), catching up with the cricket and tennis scores and oohing and ahhing at the torrential downpour, we were spilt into our teams. I was sat next to a Yorkshire Carnegie fan who’d painted her nails with some of the national flags from the teams taking part in the RWC. Our own Spectator Services team is the biggest by far and we got to learn what it all involves. We also got to understand where we'll be based during our shifts, the tasks we'll be doing and what other members of The Pack and England 2015 staff we'll be volunteering alongside - all while having a bit of fun along the way with some proof of learning quizzes with a bit of rugby world cup general knowledge thrown in to keep us on our toes. Do you know which team Australia scored the highest ever number of points against in a Rugby World Cup? And what that score was? No, it was not 200 - 8 v Wales as I suggested - which got the biggest laugh of the day.

And that was it, Talking Tactics training done. Next stop Home Turf training which is when we get our uniform. I need to do some serious revision for that - I'm carrying a bit more lard than when I tried out the samples for size.